Sunday, 4 December 2016

Running Therapy

The festive season is kicking in and the size of this undertaking is making itself felt; no more boozy parties for me on a Saturday night. I know I would struggle to run with a hangover (it is hard enough sober and well), so am the designated driver for many of our nights out these days.

As if the sacrifice of a glass or two with old friends is not enough, the cold snap continued this weekend and I got up at 7am this morning to a very hard frost..... and no central heating either. In attempting to get to our boiler, we also found that something had been leaking in the garage.... and has seeped into some of the packing for our new kitchen units, causing some damage. Bugger it.

So what better to do than defost the car, lace up trainers, find warm layers, and go running? There is plenty of evidence out there to suggest that running, and exercise generally, is good for mental health, and whilst I don't have any major mental health problems I can confirm that a run out across the Kent Countryside lifts the spirits and relieves stress!

We ran from the far side of Mote Park today along the A20 and through Bearstead before circling back towards Maidstone Town Centre and through Mote Park again to our start point to make it a 13k /8 mile run. It was very cold and icy underfoot in places, but a really enjoyable session this morning, and I am slowly feeling fitter as a result of the extra activity; I was ready to finish when we did, but not in a state of exhaustion either. Progress!

When I got home, Yvette's lovely husband (who had been planning a lay-in) had restored our heating and repaired a leak in the bath too, so after a huge bowl of porridge it was off to one of our locals for a quick lunch. Soooo hungry after running and enjoyed my steak and kidney pudding immensely!